Article writing can be a chore.
I enjoy writing articles but most people I speak to aren’t of the same point of view.
Which means that they look to outsourcing sites instead.
I do that occasionally – usually when it’s a topic in a niche that I need to write about but don’t have much energy about.
Here are some of the sites I use for outsourcing article writing and some I don’t use. Plus the reasons why.
Fiverr
I don’t recommend using Fiverr for article writing.
You might hit lucky but you might not and most of the feedback ratings are given almost as soon as the “gig” is delivered, which means that’s not enough time to really check the content or quality.
Not every Fiverr provider is scrupulous – there are various tricks that can be used to fool rudimentary checks like Copyscape – and there aren’t many options to do things like request a re-write with most gigs.
On top of that, $5 is actually quite pricey compared with some of the other options I suggest.
This is the site I use most for outsourcing article writing.
The speed is fast and providing you get the specification write, the quality can be quite good as well.
iWriter handle checking via Copyscape as part of their service. They’re also aware of most of the common tricks used to fool it into thinking an article is unique when it isn’t (usually messing around with HTML behind the scenes).
They will ban writers if that’s discovered and you’ll get a refund – I’ve had that a couple of times in the early days of using their service.
You get the chance to read through the article before accepting it – that’s something you should do – as well as ask for a rewrite if it’s close but needs more things doing to it than you’re prepared to do – something I’ve done occasionally but usually the articles are either OK or beyond help!
There are 3 different levels of writing available. Since I’m happy to tidy up any small changes needed, I tend to choose the Basic level which is currently $3 for a 500 word article. That price is also why I think Fiverr is expensive!
In the special instructions, I put the following sentences plus anything specific to the particular project:
- I’m happy if the article is several bullet pointed tips – that usually works well.
- Please make sure your work is split into paragraphs, not just one long article.
- Please include the keyword in the first paragraph.
- Please don’t over-do the keyword density – just write naturally.
Point 1 effectively asks them to write in the style I describe on this page.
Point 2 was added by me a long time ago when I kept getting articles that were one, long, 500 word paragraph. Since I’ve added it, almost everyone has followed the instruction.
Point 3 is a simple SEO idea – if it doesn’t work for your style, feel free to exclude it.
Point 4 is an attempt to make the final article read more naturally rather than the writer trying to hit a keyword density at the expense of readability.
I’ve found that the articles usually come back within a few hours and at most a day – that happens if a writer gives up part way through or doesn’t complete in the time allowed by iWriter and it gets re-offered via their system.
If you don’t want to play the role of editor (which you have to do with the other suggestions on this page) then this is the company to use.
They handle everything once you’ve given them the keywords.
That said, it does still pay to read the finished articles as things can slip through occasionally or the article might pass their editorial control but not meet what you really wanted. There is the ability to exclude writers if they don’t meet your standards – I’ve done that with a few who wrote very generic articles but as a rule the quality is good.
Delivery takes a few days unless you pay for their express service.
They also offer the option to submit the articles you’ve had written to various article directories which makes the process even more outsourced.
Freelancer and other freelance sites
These work a bit like a grown up version of Fiverr. Most of the time there are no fixed jobs and no fixed prices.
You post a project and sift through the replies that come back.
Before the days of Fiverr, I used freelance sites regularly for articles.
When you find a good writer they can be excellent but there are still deadlines and that seems to be the downfall of using freelance sites for writing (or quite a few other tasks, but that’s another post entirely).
The problem with freelance sites is much the same as you get with trades like builders: they never know what tomorrow is likely to bring, so they squirrel away jobs and deadlines get pushed back.
And there’s always the excuse I had from one writer who turned down future jobs because he’d (in his own words) “gone to the dark side” and was writing articles for adult sites at double the per word cost I’d been paying!
If you’d prefer to write articles yourself, it’s a skill that can be learned and keeps you in complete control.
You can check out my article writing course here.